Stargate: Britannia
by Chevron7Lock
Summary: When the Goa'uld take British scientists hostage, SG-1 are called in to attempt to rescue them. But is there more to what the scientists are doing than meets the eye?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Story will contain action on both Earth and... elsewhere. Also mild humor at points, hints at S/J. Hope you like it!

**Stargate:SG-1 – Britannia**

Colonel Jack O'Neill stomped through the tunnels of Stargate Command wearing his annoyance as a badge of pride. He thought that it might be worth wearing his annoyed face anyway while walking through the innumerable and identical grey walled passages at the SGC, as he found that people tended to get out of his way more efficiently. This brought a smile to his face as he turned the corner towards the briefing room – which seemed to disturb the Airman guarding the door even more than the annoyed face would have.

He walked through the door of the briefing room to find the rest of SG-1 already sitting around the polished table, waiting to begin. Unusually, there were no thick files in front of either Major Carter or Daniel Jackson, and neither of them were talking about things Jack didn't understand - which usually spelt trouble . Teal'c had no files and was not speaking either, but that was normal.

"SG-1! At ease, people," said General Hammond as he entered the room, " We have a situation that requires immediate attention."

"Of course there is. It's Friday." quipped the Colonel. Carter rolled her eyes at him.

"Thank you Colonel. It would appear that a Goa'uld scout ship appeared over the North Eastern Atlantic last night. We're not sure why, or how, or indeed who, but we do know that the ship homed in on the nearest strong energy signature it could find, specifically one that was being transmitted from a military facility in England" the General explained.

"A military facility? Why? Wouldn't the strongest signature come from a power station, or... magnets... or something?" This earned another roll of the eyes from Carter.

"Just what we thought, Colonel. It would appear that while we haven't told the British everything about the Stargate program, they haven't told us everything too. They were testing some kind of technology at their equivalent of Area 51, Porton Down. It would appear it was some sort of alien technology, but what they haven't told us is what they were testing exactly, and how far they have been able to get with understanding the technology."

"But why hadn't the British combined their research with ours once they knew about the SGC?" asked Daniel.

"Well, the existence of the SGC isn't exactly public knowledge, so I'm guessing they can't even tell another branch of their own military, right, General?" replied the Colonel.

"We presume so. Anyway, the scout ship that appeared yesterday flew in to the facility and deployed a ground unit. They broke into the underground lab and recovered whatever it was under test, killing several scientists and military personnel in the process. They also took two scientists with them. They then left and jumped to hyperspace."

"So what do the Brits make of this sir?"

"Well, there's a cover story in place over there, and it hasn't leaked, but they know very little about what happened, or where the ship went, or even who it was. They have now been informed of the existence of the Stargate program. SG-1, your mission is to first find out what the British know, what they were testing, and what happened last night. More importantly, find where the Goa'uld went, and recover the missing personnel. Your plane leaves from Peterson as soon as you can get there. Dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

The C-130 cargo plane banked as it curved across the white bleached landscape below towards the other side of the Atlantic. Daniel was curled up in a corner reading a dusty tome. Sam was asleep in her seat, and Jack was staring out the window unseeing. Sitting in uncomfortable flip down seats in the holds of aircraft on the way to the next mission was something Jack thought he had left behind when he left Black Ops and joined the SGC. Stargates were slightly more immediate form of transport, although possibly slightly more disconcerting.

Teal'c ducked under a cable and joined Jack in the seats next to the window. For a while they sat in companionable silence, before Teal'c spoke up.

"O'Neill, I wish to know what we might be facing on this mission. Are these 'Brits' a hostile enemy?"

"Er... not exactly, no. They're our allies in many things on Earth, but not all the time. You see, we originally America was founded by a group of settlers who left Britain and then split off by declaring independence."

"I see," Teal'c replied – although he didn't really. Tau'ri politics still confused him, and the many films he watched were often not the best guide to the real world.

"Ah, they're great guys really. Bit of an obsession with tea, always complaining about the weather, and they don't play hockey on ice, but other than that, good people to work with. You'd have to ask Daniel more about the history, though."

Teal'c slowly nodded. He decided to refrain from asking why O'Neill felt so strongly about hockey being played on ice.

Sam was arising from sleep as the plane touched down on the wet runway and braked to a stop. She was then very rudely awakened by a voice in her ear.

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty! Rise and shine!" said the Colonel, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Sir... could you keep it down, please?" sighed Carter.

"Let me think.. Nope! We've got places to be, and we need that brain of yours to work the science bit out."

As the plane taxied to a stop, the rear ramp screeched and descended towards the ground, gradually revealing the dark, wet and cold scene before them. The Hercules had parked next to a hanger which had the doors partially open, spilling light across the tarmac and illuminating the shadowy shapes of fighter jets parked up. Behind they could see the control tower, and behind that, a flagpole carrying both the RAF flag and the Union Flag. In front of the jets, however, were two drab olive trucks, with a car parked up between them. As the ramp descended further, several figures were revealed. The man who looked like he was in charge stepped forward and onto the ramp as it hit the ground. As the man came into the light cast by the aircraft, SG-1 saw a balding, grey haired man wearing a blue uniform and a plastic jacket. He was wearing a peaked cap and was obviously an officer. The Colonel saluted, although he wasn't sure if he outranked the man or not – he could only see a pattern of blue lines on the front of the jacket which he presumed was some sort of rank.

"Colonel O'Neill? I'm Group Captain Clayton. I'm here to brief you on the situation fully on the way to Porton Down – I presume that's all your kit in the bags?" he asked, pointing at the selection of black holdalls strapped down in the hold, now being unstrapped by a man and a women in combat uniform.

"Yep, that's all our stuff. And the plane, that's ours. But I guess you won't want to carry that with us, Captain?" the Colonel joked. The 'Captain' simply raised his eyebrows at the O'Neill sense of humour and gestured that they should follow him into the waiting car. As he turned he seemed to notice that the large mass in the corner, was not, in fact, part of the wall, but a person, some sort of gold tattoo on his forehead. It was all the man could do not to stare as the huge man maneuvered into his seat.

Once they were all settled the vehicles began to move off the tarmac towards the road. They were being driven by another man in combat uniform, with an armed guard in the front seat. SG-1 and Clayton crammed into the back. Clayton took off his plastic jacket( making a lot of noise, reminiscent of a crisp packet, or so Jack thought – no good for stealth.)

"So...SG-1? The situation is like this. We have a lab at Porton Down. It's underground, high security, and so on. Or so we thought. About 24 hours ago, an... aircraft – of some kind, looked like a small pyramid – just _appeared _out of thin air over the sea. Or, that's what radar are telling us it did, anyway. Just waltzed it's way through all the air defences like they weren't there, and hovered over the lab. It stayed for about 10 minutes, then... vanished. I just can't believe it..." he trailed off, running his hands through his thinning hair and looking out the window as they passed the gate of the airbase and onto the main road.

"When we got inside the lab, it was chaos. Blood everywhere, bodies strewn over the floor... I had several good friends die in there. They all seemed to have died of severe burn wounds, possibly from some sort of weapon. They'd obviously been trying to get into the main lab, and they took most of the things we had in there. We were testing some sort of energy generation device – you'll have to ask the scientists exactly what. When we did a headcount, the chief scientist, his assistant, and 3 guards were missing,"

"Hang on second," interrupted Daniel. "We were told only two people were taken."

"No, five, I'm afraid. The security tapes have been blanked, so we really have no idea what happened in there – or how anyone even got in there! I'm told you're some sort of team that might know what's going on." Looking at the four people in the car in front of him, Clayton was not entirely sure they fitted the normal definition of the word 'team'. There was the two USAF officers, although both of them seemed a bit different to the normal cocky flyboys he'd met from America. There was the bespectacled and scruffy haired man in the seat beside them, who certainly did not look military. And then there was the huge man in the seat behind them. There was almost something...otherworldly about him.

"There's no easy way to say this, but bluntly, we're out of our depth. We need your help – or so I'm told. Really, we have no idea what's going on. The top brass have been muttering about gateways or something, and the ship.. well, it was like nothing I've ever seen. It would be awfully good if you could help out."

Sam shifted in her seat and sighed. "Well, sir, I think we'd better give _you _a little briefing of our own first, before we start..."

Jack smiled internally. There was only one thing that was better than revealing the existence of the Stargate – and that was watching people seeing it dial for the first time. That _never_ got old.


	3. Chapter 3

The team briskly walked down the corridor behind Clayton, flanked by a two security men that looked like equivalent of the omnipresent SFs back at the SGC. The scenes before them had obviously shown the battle in the lab: scorches from staff weapons littered the walls, along with patches of dried red liquid that they didn't care to examine to closely. The doors hung of their hinges and the furniture was in disarray, but already clean-up teams were doing their job. The corridors were that particular shade of grey that seemed to be reserved exclusively for depressingly identical military installations, which tended to look even more depressing when there wasn't a Stargate at the end of the corridor.

"We're now entering the secure zone..." Clayton announced as they went through a large imposing doorway. The effect was diminished slightly by the fact that the large steel door in question was on the floor with a hole in it. The Colonel's experienced military eye travelled around everything around them, constructing a picture of the battle that had raged there not so long ago. He could see Carter paying particular attention to any glimpses of labs through doors, or active computer screens. Behind him Daniel was also looking wide eyed at his surroundings, particularly the blood – although less wide eyed than when he had first joined SG-1. Behind him Teal'c was... Teal'c.

"...and there's the security room – I suppose you could take a look at the tapes, but I don't think you'll be able to recover anything. We can't. Down there is the control room... and down there is the main lab."

O'Neill was slightly surprised to see they were walking past what might be the most critical bit of their investigation. The Colonel was beginning to wonder what they had been doing in there and why they were not allowed to see it.

"Captain? Would you mind if we took a look around the lab itself? It might give us some clues." When O'Neill said this he saw Clayton stiffen uncomfortably.

"Actually... I rather think we had better go and look round the.. er... security room. It might be worth you having a look at the tapes anyway, come to think of it." Teal'c raised his eyebrow slowly up his forehead as the team looked at each other with surprise. _Someone is hiding something_, was the look that passed between the four.

Some time later, Jack slumped over the console in the security room. It was obvious they were going to find nothing here. It had taken Carter all of a few seconds to work out that the tapes had indeed been wiped by Goa'uld technology, and were thus irrecoverable. They hadn't said anything to the man hovering nervously behind them though. O'Neill only hoped that Carter's 'bathroom break' was what he thought it was, and so he'd kept pushing random buttons on the console while attempting to keep a straight face. He didn't think he was going to be able to look convincing for much longer, so he was relived to see Carter come through the door. He was slightly less relieved when he saw the thunderous expression on her face – and then he was more than slightly unnerved when she stormed up the Group Captain standing at the back.

"What are you _thinking_?" Carter exclaimed, stepping right up to the man and almost spitting in his face in her anger. Clayton could only mutter incoherent syllables as Carter continued.

"I've just had a look at your 'lab'," she explained, "and I can't believe you didn't tell us!"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Oh, do I love my cliffhangers... And twice in a row tonight!

_Meanwhile, back at the SGC..._

"Sir! We've managed to track them!" Sgt. Harriman shouted, running into General Hammond's office brandishing a printout like a lethal weapon.

"Track what? Have you ever heard of knocking before entering, Sergeant?" replied the General, surprised.

"Yes sir, but the important thing is this. We looked at the energy signatures released by the departing ship over England, and, based on the triangulation of the different emissions we detected on X-band radar, the hyperspatial signature..."

Hammond sighed. The man had been taking lessons from Major Carter, he decided. He liked the Sgt more when he just shouted his catchphrases into the microphone.

"I'm growing old here Sergeant, get to the point!" interrupted the General.

"Point, sir, yes. Anyway, we think that the ship went through hyperspace to P3W-924. We also noticed the ships went much faster than usual – they only took seconds to get there from here, according to our sensors and the Doppler shift..."

"Ah!" Hammond held up his hand before the explanation went any further. "What do we know about P3W-924?"

"Well, sir, apparently it's where the Goa'uld Thoth works – he designs many bits of technology for the Goa'uld. A bit like their version of Area 51, if you like, sir."

"So it looks like they stole something from the British and took it to their research centre?"

"That would be my guess, sir. I'll alert SG-1." Harriman replied, already moving out of the door back towards the control room.

_Back with the team..._

Seconds later SG-1 was running down the corridor towards the main lab. Cater had insisted they see for themselves, almost furious beyond being able to explain. As the Colonel rounded the corner towards the entrance, he heard a whining sound, like some sort of motor or generator was running. He could see the lab was a large room, probably about the size of a large aircraft hanger. The signs of the recent battle were plain for all to see – it looked like the fighting had been at it's fiercest here. The high walls, although still monotonous grey, were festooned with equipment and cables. The room seemed to be divided into two, with identical sets of equipment on either side. One set looked incomplete and damaged, although the set of objects along the far wall looked freshly unpacked and undamaged. Each area seemed to be arranged around a central cradle.

The four members of the team charged into the room, almost knocking surprised scientists off their feet. They slowed to a halt as they took in the scene before them.

Daniel gaped.

Teal'c raised _both _eyebrows.

Carter folded her arms and shook her head.

The Colonel opened his mouth to say something sarcastic and pithy. Nothing came out. Jack O'Neill had faced down countless enemies, been captured and tortured, but always had a quip to annoy his captors with. Today, words failed him as he looked towards the far end of the lab.

"Carter."

"Sir."

"Please, please, please tell me that's not what I think it is..."


	5. Chapter 5

"Sorry sir," Carter winced, "but that's exactly what it looks like."

The object of their discussion sat at the other end of the room, on top of the close fitting cradle. Four pairs of eyes swept up from the power cables at the base, up the sweeping curve of the shining silver ring, taking in the nine smaller glowing circles equally spaced around the ring. Four pairs of eyes swept down the other side of the ring, taking in the ramp leading up to the arched ring.

"We call it the Portal." came a sheepish voice from behind them.

O'Neill shook his head at the nerve of it. He thought the Russians had been quite clever operating their own gate without them finding out.

But just how in the universe had the British managed to _build _a Stargate?

"General Hammond, sir!" Once again, Sgt. Harriman ran into the General's office without knocking. "SG-1 on the line for you!"

"Thank you Walter." Hammond was already picking up the phone. "Jack! What's going on over there?"

"Well sir, you won't believe this, but it would appear the device that was stolen was in fact a Stargate."

"A gate?" Hammond's brow shot up. "How were they operating it? We have the only Earth gate."

"Not one of those gates, sir, they've built their own. Seems to be completely separate to the Ancient gate system. Carter says it works on the same principles, but uses a different dialling and control system. Looks like they had two prototypes built, and they've now lost one. Looks a bit slicker than ours – all shiny and smooth. Maybe Walter could give ours a makeover?"

"Hm. I presume you heard about Sgt. Harriman's efforts to track the hyperspace destination?"

"Yes sir. Looks like Thoth wanted the gate that the Brits were building, for whatever reason."

"Is it more advanced than an Ancient gate, somehow?"

"I don't know – I've got Carter having a poke around here." As O'Neill said this, he looked over to the other side of the room. He could see Carter looking at the controls at he gate, while Teal'c simply stood in front of her and stared down anyone who dared think about removing them from the room.

"Well, Colonel, when you have completed your investigation, you are to return to the SGC and prepare for a rescue mission to P3W-924. If you can secure or destroy the British Stargate, so much the better. We'll send a team of scientists over to investigate more thoroughly. Does it look like the gates were being used for research or actual gate travel?"

"No sir, I believe they've only got the two gates. I have no idea where they got the knowledge from to build a new gate from scratch. The Air Force here aren't being too co-operative at the moment."

"Well, Jack, I'm going to need to call the President in on this one. Get back here as soon as you can, and good luck." Hammond put the phone down and sighed.

Some days, he could really do with some missions that just involved people getting shot at by the Goa'uld. At least that was tiresomely predictable.


End file.
